


Bunny

by ungrateful_sinner



Series: Original Works [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Demons, Gen, Other, it be that way, it really do
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 17:43:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20178217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ungrateful_sinner/pseuds/ungrateful_sinner
Summary: In theory, this is absolutely not a story I should be telling.  After all, it could result in certain parties being sent to incredibly unfavorable conditions, which I absolutely do not want under any circumstances.However, after years upon years of my daughter begging me to tell her this story, I have decided to write it all down.  I have attempted to capture the feelings of our lovely protagonist, and thus it shall be in the present tense despite taking place many, many years ago.Truly, at the time our protagonist was far more awkward that lovely, but a certain party involved in this story stands by his statement that no matter how terrified she was, she was still beautiful when he truly looked at her.  In response, I stand by my own statement that love is blind.Before we begin, I wish to mention one thing: This is absolutely NOT a story for children.  It contains a true (and very reasonable) fear of being hunted for sport, and although there is a happy ending, the killer is not “brought to justice,” as they normally are in this kind of story.So, with that out of the way, here is the story of how I met my husband.





	1. Game Start

She’s lost.

The girl has never been this deep in the forest before, let alone at night. She doesn’t think she’s been up this late, either. Not even with…

The blonde absentmindedly rubs one of the bruises on her wrist. She had gotten it the day before, after she failed to smile wide enough for her father’s business partners. She shrinks in on herself at the memory. Her mother gripped her arm far too tight and yelled at her, calling her a stupid whore that would never amount to anything. Stupid little…

Little…

Gosh, she’s so tired that she can’t even remember her own name. What was it again…?

It was…

Oh!

That’s right!

Her name is Mary. How could she be so silly as to forget?

She’s still lost in the forest, though. She had been following a path for the last few hours, but it looks like it splits into two up ahead. Left and right -- a choice. Where will they take her? The only thing she knows is that once she picks one, there’s no going back. She’ll have to commit.

Mary thinks for a long while before she goes left. This path leads her to a lake. The moon reflects on it -- large and full, bright against the pitch black water. It’s gorgeous, and just seeing it fills her with peace. Still, she can’t swim that far, and she needs to put as much distance between herself and her old town as possible.

She turns around and goes back to the fork. Right it is, then.

After a bit more walking, she sees… a light? But who would be out this late? She proceeds cautiously. The girl doesn’t  _ want _ to dive into a bush, but she will if it means remaining hidden.

But as she gets closer, it becomes more and more evident that the light is stationary. Eventually, she can make it out to be… a street lamp? And just past it is a town.

That’s not good. If anyone figures out who she is, she’ll be sent back. Logically, she knows she should avoid it. Still, sleeping in a town is a lot safer than sleeping in the forest. And besides… Her “parents” probably haven’t even realized she’s gone yet.

She slowly makes her way closer. As she does so, she starts to notice little details. The road is messy with overgrowth, that roof is broken… It becomes very clear that this town is abandoned. That would explain why she didn’t know it was here…

An odd feeling of dread lingers in the air.

Still, shelter is shelter. Mary walks to the nearest building and tries the door.

It’s unlocked.

The blue-eyed girl finds herself in what appears to be a shop of some sort. But the shelves are empty, there’s broken items all over the floor, and…

Blood.

There’s blood everywhere—on the walls, on the floor, on the counters. It’s like somebody decided to take a paint brush and renovate the room. Mary takes a sharp breath. Nobody could lose that much blood and survive.

“Oh my Gosh…” she whispers, horrified.

She hears a low chuckle behind her, and the sound of a door shutting.

The blonde whips around, eyes wide in fear.

There, standing in the entrance is… a Thing that towers over her. From a distance, it might be mistaken as human. But up close? It’s very clearly not. She doesn’t know what it is. She doesn’t care, either.

Because despite the color of the fabric being black, its shoulderless sweater is visibly covered in blood. So are its jeans. And the meat cleaver in its right hand.

The creature itself is even more horrifying.

Its skin is white. Like, actual, stark white. As if someone had taken all of the blood out of its body. The thing has pitch black hair that has clearly not been brushed in a very long time. It falls messily down past its shoulders, and is riddled with tangles and knots. And its eyes…

Its eyes are completely bloodshot. They’re wide open and crazy, and Mary wants to cry in fear just looking at them.

Its cheeks are stained red as if blood had poured down from those horrifying eyes. Above, it has two bone-white horns jutting out of its forehead. They’re not very big, but the fact that it has horns at all is terrifying.

And its grin.

Its horrible, wicked grin.

Fangs are clearly visible in a mouth that stretches wider than any human’s ever should.

What is this?!

Mary lets out a loud scream.

The thing dissolves into crazed laughter. It lasts for a long time, and Mary can feel a few tears escape her eyes. Eventually, the laughter subsides.

“Why are you screaming?” It asks with amusement, letting out another giggle. “My name’s Bunny — Will you play with me?”

Mary doesn’t think she has a choice. No. Scratch that. She  _ knows _ she doesn’t have a choice. She nods a bit, trying not to burst into tears.

“Okay,” she breathes out. Her voice cracks a bit.

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” It (he?) jumps a little, as if he was a child whose parents have just let him have a puppy and not a six-foot-something monster that was probably about to carve a girl open. “Here are the rules! I’m going to count to thirty, and then you have to hide! Don’t let me catch you, or else…” He giggles, waving his meat cleaver like a shiny new toy, “It’s all over!”

“One…”

Mary sprints past him in a frenzy. She has no idea where she’s going. She knows nothing about this town. Not like Bunny probably does. She’s doomed. Absolutely doomed.

In her panic, she ends up in a pasture of some sort.

“THIRTY!”

Oh Gosh, where does she hide?!

She looks around. There’s a barrel, a pile of hay, and…

A barn! Of course!

She sprints towards the large building, slamming the door shut behind her. It’s hard to do so, but she manages to lock it. It’s probably the adrenaline running through her that gives her the strength to do so. It’ll hurt like heck when it subsides, but she can’t really care right now.

Something starts pounding on the door.

“Are you going to come out? I can wait!”

Mary takes a deep breath. It looks like she’s escaped.

For now. She slips down to the floor, dissolving into sobs. What is this nightmare?!


	2. A Dead Boy's Memory

Eventually, Mary finds it in her to stop crying. That, or she’s just run out of tears. The second one is more likely, honestly. She takes one more deep breath before standing up and looking around.

To her surprise, the stalls aren’t as empty as the rest of the town. There are cows, goats, sheep, and chickens. No pigs, but she doesn’t really see any significance in that. Mary stays far away from them as she glances into each stall. Sure, they LOOK harmless, but there’s no way to tell if they really are. She’d rather be safe than sorry.

The last stall on the right side is empty.

And glowing faintly.

Against her better judgement, Mary goes to investigate. It’s a glowing… orb… of some sort hovering over a… basement?

No. Not a basement.

It’s a passage. Could it get her out? But she’d have to move the orb…

The blonde examines it again. It looks like it’s made of pure golden light, and it gently rises and falls ever so slightly. It feels… comforting. Like it can make her happy.

Mary doesn’t trust it at all.

First off, what even IS it? This thing isn’t natural. Meaning it was probably put here by Bunny. Which could mean that it’s meant to either kill her or make her easier to kill. Still, she needs to get past it. Mary turns her head to check the door, making sure it’s still locked. She doesn’t want the monster getting to her in the event that this is meant to harm her.

The door is, in fact, locked. She takes a deep breath before reaching out to touch the light.

Her vision goes to static.

  
  
  
  


** _The young boy walks into the barn carrying an empty bucket. He can’t be more than ten years old, despite the fact that he’s covered in bruises. They’re mostly visible on his arms and shoulder, although there’s one in the shape of a handprint on his neck. That one is newer. He’s grateful, though, that the majority of them are hidden under his oversized shirt. It doesn’t fit him at all. It’s a hand-me-down, he knows. One of his older sisters’, left behind after the last one moved out to get married. But the boy wasn’t picky about what he could wear. He’s just grateful that his parents are giving him clothes in the first place. And yeah, Uncle makes fun of him for it. Mom always said to ignore him, though. The boy thinks she just doesn’t care enough to stop it._ **

** _He moves black hair out of his face. His gray eyes, so childish and naive despite the Hell he goes through on a daily basis, look around the room. Eventually, they settle on one of many cows. He walks over to her. Belle had always been his favorite; She was older, and oh-so-gentle. He gives her a few pets on the nose, and she leans into his touch. He’s always been good with animals—it’s why his parents have him do the milking._ **

** _“Hey there, old girl.” The boy speaks softly. Not just because the cow could be easily spooked, but because anything louder than a whisper will hurt his throat. Once the handprint bruise heals, he should be back to normal. But for now, he talks quietly. “How’ve ya been?” He gives her a few more pets as he coos over her. The animals have always been his friends. Even when things got bad, and the other kids in the town avoided the boy in the oversized girl’s clothes, the animals were always there for him. After he milks the cows, he’ll go and play with Cotton._ **

** _Yeah._ **

** _Life wasn’t good, but at least he had his friends._ **

  
  
  
  


Mary snaps back to reality.

What… What was that?!

The static slowly fades from her vision, but the orb is gone.

Who was that boy? Was he another victim? He was so little, and Mary shudders over the thought of how that poor child died.

But a darker part of her tells her that it’s in the past. That there’s nothing she can do except try not to suffer the same fate. She takes a deep breath to ground herself before entering into the now-unblocked passageway.

The hall is dark. Mary can barely see at the start of it, and the farther she goes in, the darker it gets. The blonde puts a hand on the wall of the passage to guide herself. She focuses on keeping her breathing quiet.

She’s completely vulnerable.

She can’t see, it’s a tight area, and if Bunny were to sneak up on her, it would all be over. Her best bet at this point is to stay as quiet as possible. Not only to keep herself hidden, although that’s a major part of it. But also to listen around her. To try and tell if there’s another set of footsteps, another person breathing, a dark presence behind her.

Just the thought of it makes her shudder. And yet, in a way, it’s still better than being home. If she dies, then at least she would die free. That doesn’t mean she  _ wants _ to, of course. It’s just that technically, if she’s dead, nobody can hurt her ever again. It… does seem kind of nice.

She shakes her head. No, no, no! She’s going to live! Mary Shepherd is  _ not _ going to die here. She refuses, ignoring the little voice in her mind saying that she might not have a choice in the matter. She  _ does _ have a choice, and as soon as she gets out of this tunnel, she’s going to use it. She will not die, that much is for certain.

The texture of the wall changes on her right side. It feels like… A door? But there’s also a faint light up ahead. She has another choice to make.

Keep going?

  
Or investigate?


	3. The Room in the Hallway

Mary decides to investigate. She hasn’t seen anyone come near, and if Bunny  _ is _ hiding past that door, she can always slam it on his face to buy some time. She purposefully ignores the fact that he could easily trap her in there. But just in case, she takes one last glance in the dark hallway. She can’t see anything due to the dark, but she’d (probably) notice a shape right next to her. When she’s positive that she truly  _ is _ alone, she turns the doorknob. Immediately, she is assaulted with light.

After what seems like forever, her eyes adjust and she fully enters the room, shutting the door behind her.

Oh.

Oh Lord.

She was  _ not _ expecting this.

There.

Are.

Rabbits.

_ EVERYWHERE. _

All different colors, all different sizes… The only thing they have in common is that each one is wearing a small necklace with a diamond-shaped pendant on it.

Did she die? Is this heaven? She almost thinks so. But no, she’s still breathing. Apparently there really is a room full of rabbits in the basement of a murder scene. Are they Bunny’s? But why would he keep them? Is this how he got his name? Because now that Mary thinks about it, it  _ does _ seem incredibly unlikely that any parents would name their child after an animal. But did he even have parents? Mary wasn’t sure.

She allows herself to feel slightly curious at the monster that’s chasing her. What is he? Where did he come from? Was he human once, or did he crawl out of the abyss as he was? Now that she appeared to have a break, the questions kept flooding in. But eventually, she’s disturbed by one of the rabbits.

It’s tiny and white — probably a dwarf of some sort. Mary is immediately in love with it.

“Hey there, little guy,” she coos, crouching down. “Do you have a name?”

The rabbit, being a rabbit, does not respond. However, it doesn’t run, so Mary counts that as a win. She gently crouches down to pet it, and as soon as she touches his head, he binkies. The blonde giggles, daintily sitting down on the ground.

Soon, the other rabbits have started to swarm her, and she lets out a giggle. She makes sure there are no rabbits behind her before laying back. One of the rabbits plops down against her side, and she has to gently push another one away when it goes to chew on one of her pigtails.

“That’s not food, you silly boy!” She giggles as one of the rabbits licks her.

Someone else giggles as well.

Mary whips up into a sitting position, frantically glancing around the room. She takes in a sharp breath as she sees the monster in the doorway. She hadn’t even heard it open! Every instinct screams to run and cry. But she can’t -- she’s cornered. Mary is going to die.

Except she’s not, because for whatever reason, Bunny just looks at her. Against all judgement, Mary looks him dead in the eyes.

“Hello,” she says, heart pounding. If she dies, she’s going to do it with dignity.

“Hi,” he responds. A pause. “It’s not nice to break into other people’s rooms like that.” A giggle.

“Well, it’s also not nice to hunt people for sport, but here we are.” Oh Gosh. Did… Did she really just say that?! She’s dead. He’s going to fly into a fit of rage and murder her. Around all these poor rabbits, too!

But instead, he just laughs. And… It’s not the crazed laugh he had given earlier. No, this laugh is warmer. As if he was laughing at a friend’s antics instead of the dying words of his next victim.

He turns and walks out the door, shutting it behind him.

Well.

That just happened.

Mary lets out a shaky breath that she didn’t know she was holding. She was so close to…

Or was she? Maybe this was a safe room? Or maybe Bunny was sitting outside the door, fully aware that he could outwait her?

There was only one way to find out. She might as well leave now and face her death with pride. Holing up in here wouldn’t change anything if Bunny really was outside the door. If he was waiting, there wasn't anything she could do. Mary gives the rabbits one last pet each before standing up and turning to face the door.

There’s another orb.

It looks the exact same as the first one, and Mary doesn’t think twice about reaching out to touch it.

  
  
  
  


** _The black-haired boy sits on the ground, a white rabbit in front of him. He pets it on the head and she binkies, making the boy laugh._ **

** _He’s not in good shape._ **

** _While he once had bruises, cuts and burns have been added to the mix. Uncle was never happy with him being too friendly to the animals. He would call him “incompetent” and “too sensitive”. The boy didn’t believe that — after all, a little kindness never hurt anyone! In fact, he thought that the most important thing in life was to be nice to everyone!_ **

** _…_ **

** _Uncle didn’t think that way, though. And Mom and Dad were always too busy to see how much he was being hurt. But that was okay! He’s sure that they’ll come around eventually. Then, they can tell Uncle not to hit him anymore and they can all be a happy family!_ **

** _But for now, he has his friends._ **

**_“Cotton,” he _** **_talks quietly towards the rabbit, stroking her fur, “I’m really happy that you’re here with me. I don’t think I could have made it this far without you, you know? You make things better.” The rabbit plops down next to him, and he giggles._**

** _A man’s voice calls the boy’s name, and he flinches. Uncle is angry, but when is he not? The boy just hopes that if he gets upstairs fast enough, he won’t be hurt too badly._ **

** _“I gotta go,” he says, petting Cotton one last time. “I’ll be back in a bit, okay?”_ **

  
  
  
  


That boy…

  
He was a lot like her, wasn’t he?


	4. Just Like Me

Mary exits the room, every muscle tensed. She expects to be jumped as soon as she leaves.

She doesn’t expect the hallway to be illuminated with torches.

Mary has no idea why. He’s trying to get her to be scared, isn’t he? Or maybe this is his way of saying that she’s not worth the enjoyment of hunting down? He probably saw her defiance and wanted to get it over with quickly. After all, a chase is no fun if the other person doesn’t run.

Mary takes a deep breath before walking down the hallway. She’s going to die, and yet…

For some strange reason, she feels completely calm.

She doesn’t have a choice in this, after all. Why not just accept it? It’ll make things easier.

Is this what it feels like to give up?

Hypothetically, she could give one last insult to Bunny by killing herself before he can. But she doesn’t have anything to do it with. And she may as well let him have her fun. Let  _ someone _ enjoy her for once.

She’s… Tired.

Eventually, she emerges in a butcher’s shop.

Wonderful. At least it explains where Bunny got the cleaver. She knows that she should leave. She almost does.

But there’s another orb.

It’s on the middle of the butcher’s block, and…

Well, instead of the soft glow of the other two, this one seems to absorb all light. Red tendrils surround it, and it radiates pure malice. As Mary takes a step towards it, the area around her seems to get darker. She backs up and the darkness is gone.

Huh.

Any normal person would turn and walk out. But Mary is going to die anyways, and God knows she’s curious.

Against all rationality, she reaches out and touches the orb.

The world goes completely black.

  
  
  
  


** _“Let me go!” The boy cries as the bigger man drags him towards the block. Tears fall from his eyes and run down his cheeks. “Uncle, PLEASE! Don’t do this!” He sobs, feeling nothing but complete and utter fear._ **

** _“Shut the hell up,” growls the adult. “You ain’t do a goddamn thing but get in the way of everything! Won’t even let me carve up that lil’ bunny of yours. But that’s okay…” The man shoves the boy onto the table, picking up a meat cleaver. He chuckles darkly._ **

** _“YOU CAN TAKE ITS PLACE!”_ **

** _The boy cries out one last call for help as the blade comes down._ **

** _But nobody came._ **

  
  
  


** _The boy is dead. He was carved up like a pig until he stopped breathing._ **

** _Then why…_ **

** _Why does he still feel?_ **

** _Why can he hear his own heartbeat?_ **

** _He was a kind boy, he knows that._ **

** _But…_ **

** _But kindness never got him anywhere._ **

** _Nobody heard him._ **

** _Nobody cared._ **

** _And so, as his soul rises from his body and takes its own demonic form, the boy makes a decision._ **

** _Nobody will survive._ **

  
  
  
  


Oh God.

_ Oh God. _

Mary stumbles backwards away from the butcher’s block, trying to put as much distance between it and her as possible. That boy… 

He really  _ was _ like her, wasn’t he? Mary fights back another sob. And…

“I know you’re there.” The girl speaks softly, trying to sound as gentle as she can. Truthfully, she’s not sure that he is, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. “You can come out — I just want to talk.” She hears footsteps behind her, but doesn’t turn around. The blonde takes a deep breath.

“You didn’t deserve that. You didn’t deserve  _ any _ of it.” The boy huffs, and Mary takes it as an invitation to continue. “Nobody cared — and when you cried for help, nobody believed you. And the ones that did just looked the other way. That’s what happened, right? You tried to tell people, but they just. Didn’t. Care.” A growl. It’s low and feral, and Mary has to fight every instinct to not turn around.

“I… I went through the same thing.” She absentmindedly rubs her wrist. “The ones that hurt me were too rich, and too powerful, and…” She takes a deep breath. “And they’re my parents, so people think they must know best. That’s why I’m here. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I ran. Because I’m not a bad kid, and...”

“You weren’t a bad kid either. We deserved better. So…” Finally, she turns around to face the man that had been chasing her.

“Let me be your friend. Because I understand.”

Bunny drops the meat cleaver and lunges.

  
  
  


It takes Mary longer that she’s willing to admit to realize two major things.

The first is that she’s not dead. Instead, she now has a six-foot tall ghost(?) boy clinging on to her like a lifeline. He’s on his knees, and even though Mary is short from years of malnourishment, it’s still a bit ridiculous that he comes up to her collarbone. While kneeling.

The second is that her dress is slowly being stained with something wet. She’s not bleeding, though, so what’s it from? She looks down properly and it hits her.

Bunny is crying.

Mary has never properly comforted someone, nor has anyone ever comforted her. So, she does what she read in her books.

“Shoosh,” she gently hushes. “It’s okay. I’m here.” The girl strokes the black hair. It really is a mess. She’ll have to brush it later, if she survives. Still, it’s soft and silky, and she’d love to try to braid it at some point.

_ “I’m sorry,” _ comes the muffled reply.  _ “Nobody ever cared and I just wanted to hurt them because they hurt me but you understood and I still tried to kill you.” _

“That’s okay,” Mary answers. Is it? She doesn’t know, but this is the first apology that she can truly remember. “I forgive you.” That one is definitely true. Because if things had been different, she can definitely see herself having done the same thing. It’s kind of scary.

Then, Bunny looks up at her.

The red stains on his cheeks are no longer a mystery, because apparently he cries blood. It streams down his cheeks, and Mary knows that her dress is probably completely stained. That’s okay, though. She can wash it.

His eyes, now that she’s close enough, are a light gray. They’re truly beautiful, she thinks, as she keeps stroking his hair.

“Don’t leave me,” He begs.

Those gray eyes look up at her with so much reverence, as if she were a deity making a visit to its most devoted follower.

“I won’t,” she replies.

  
She means it.


End file.
